A Midsummer Night's Scream (The Dulcie O'Neil Series Book 7) (3 page)

“The one where my hair looks like I survived a windstorm?”

“Yep, that would be the one,” I answered with a wide grin. “It’s my favorite picture of you, and I keep it framed above my bed. That way I get to see you before I go to sleep and as soon as I wake up.”

He nodded, but it seemed like his thoughts were elsewhere. “Would you like to know which picture of yours is sitting on my bedside table in the hotel?”

“Of course.”

His smile broadened. “The one I took of you at Rascal’s Curve, when we raced our bikes to the top.”

“And I beat you?” I asked, remembering the sunny day as if it were yesterday. We’d taken our motorcycles for a ride and found ourselves at the top of Rascal’s Curve, which was an especially twisting and curving canyon.

“I think you beating me is open for interpretation,” he said with a quick laugh.

“You can choose to remember it however you want to, but I know the truth.”

He didn’t respond right away but just looked at me, wearing that smile of his that I found so irresistible. “When we got to the top, you took your helmet off and the wind picked your hair up and blew it over your shoulders just at the exact moment that I snapped a picture of you. In it, you’re laughing and your eyes are the greenest I’ve ever seen them.” He paused for a moment or two, and when he spoke again, his voice was a little bit deeper. “Do you know that I can detect your moods just by looking at your eyes?”

I shook my head.

He chuckled as he crossed his large arms over his equally ample chest. “When you’re angry, flecks of gold appear in them. When you’re sad, they take on a sage sort of green; and then there are those other times, when they become a deep, dark, hunter green.”

“And what am I then?” I asked with a smile, taking a few steps toward him as I decided to play his game.

He cocked his head to the side. “It’s difficult to say.”

“Didn’t you just claim that you can read my moods?” I asked with a playful shrug. “Doesn’t sound like you’re very good at it.”

I couldn’t help gulping as I focused on his face and saw his eyes were suddenly glowing. It was the surefire sign that his body had selected mine as his mate—that it had made the decision that I was strong enough to bear his seed.

“When your eyes become their darkest, it means you’re turned on,” he explained.

“What color are they now?” I asked, my voice barely audible.

Knight smiled wider. “The darkest green I’ve ever seen them.”

TWO

I couldn’t argue. I was definitely turned on—more turned on than I’d been for a very long time. Two months long, to be exact.

As I watched Knight push up from where he’d been sitting on top of his desk, it felt like millions of insects were busily humming in my stomach, I was so nervous. He started for the door and reached it in a few strides, then locked it. Turning to face me, he smiled languidly and began closing the blinds on all three windows.

“So we’re going to do this in your office, huh?” I asked, my voice sounding a little bit shaky since my nerves were going full steam ahead. Even though Knight and I had been together for a while, he never failed to give me butterflies.

“It’s been two months,” he answered over his shoulder with a shrug. “I don’t know about you, but I’m not waiting any longer.”

“What if I refuse? I mean, this
is
our workplace,” I persisted, pretending to care. The truth was I was just stalling because I enjoyed playing games of cat and mouse with Knight. “What would HR say?”

We had no HR department, so they wouldn’t have much to say.

Knight finished closing the third set of blinds and faced me, without saying anything. His smile suggested he knew something I didn’t. It was an expression of his that I was very much accustomed to; but, as always, it made my breath catch.

“Last I checked, I was your boss,” he replied in a businesslike tone that brooked no arguments. “And that means
you
have to do whatever
I
tell you to do.”

“Oh? Is that so?” I asked with an undisguised smile, crossing my arms over my chest to show my disapproval.

“Yes, that’s so.”

I shook my head as goose bumps started rising all over my body. Knight just had that effect on me. “Last I checked, you were on hiatus for two months, leaving all of the operations for this office in
my
lap, and as such, this office has been my sole responsibility; so I’d say that means I’m the boss of myself.” I took a deep breath and audibly exhaled it for added effect. “And, in case you didn’t notice, I even took ownership of your office.”

“I did notice,” Knight answered with a frown. He picked up a pink-haired troll doll from my collection of twelve with which I’d adorned the top of his desk. He briefly examined the miniature with obvious distaste before replacing it beside its blue-haired brother. Then he turned around with a very determined scowl.

“Trolls, Dulce? Really?”

“Toys R Us was fresh out of Lokis, sorry,” I answered with a shrug.

“Well, now that I’ve resumed my role as head of this office, and my role as
your boss
, I order you to remove all these obnoxious creatures at once,” he announced boldly.

I frowned and shook my head as I offered him an expression of consolation. “I hate to break the news to you, buddy, but seeing as how I’ve been managing myself as well as this office for the last couple of months, you’re going to have to convince me that you’re my boss.”

“Is that so?”

I nodded. “And, just so you know, convincing me isn’t going to be easy,” I finished with an apologetic shrug.

“Going on hiatus doesn’t mean I stopped being your boss,” he pointed out.

He wore a lofty expression as he leaned his exquisite ass against the edge of the desk while regarding me with visible amusement. Even though I wanted nothing more than to attack him right there, I swallowed my enthusiasm and forced myself to pay attention to our little game of playful seduction.

“Hmm,” I started, drumming my fingers against my lips. “A salient point,” I continued in my best lawyer-ese. “But even if I played the role of devil’s advocate and agreed with you, I would have to warn you that you still have a small problem on your hands.”

“I do? How’s that?”

I pretended to be deep in thought for the next few seconds to avoid answering. I’d never been much of an actress, but this seemed like a good way to prolong the theatrics. “Well, since you
have
been gone for soooo long, and I acted as the boss around here, I’ve sort of let all that power go to my head.”

“You don’t say,” he responded with a chuckle. Crossing one ankle over the other, he observed me with a smile. The man had no business being so damn sexy. It should have been illegal. Holy Hades, for all I knew, maybe in some states, it was.

“It’s unfortunate, but yes,” I replied, shaking my head like the whole thing was a shameful tragedy. “I’m just not sure I can follow anybody’s rules anymore. I mean, I’m much more partial to following my own.”

Knight nodded as he exhaled deeply and rubbed the back of his neck. Then he focused on his feet. “That creates quite the conundrum then,” he admitted with a quick glance at me. His eyes seemed to dance as a mischievous smile overtook his mouth. “But I’m sure I can rectify the situation. If I’m good at anything, it’s reschooling any employees who dare to go rogue.”

I shook my head, trying to stifle my smile, while staying in character. Even though I was more than looking forward to our sexual reunion, which certainly hovered on the horizon, I had to admit our little game possessed its own level of delicious foreplay.

“Yeah, well, I’m not ready to hand over the power, or the control; not just yet.” I sighed as I continued to shake my head. “You’re going to find yourself with quite a fight on your hands.”

“Luckily for you, I’m a lover … and a fighter,” Knight answered with a hearty chuckle.

Standing up, he began approaching me. When he was maybe a foot away, he stopped walking. I had to restrain myself from closing my eyes and inhaling as deeply as I could. I wanted nothing more than to fill myself with his clean, masculine scent. Instead, I held my ground and continued our charade, truthfully loving every minute of it.

I watched him reach for me and grasp my upper arms in his large hands. A shiver of nervous anticipation raced through me, causing my breath to catch. I could already feel something beginning to blossom deep down in my core. Something that felt like an intense stinging blended with the thrill of anticipation.

“I won’t give in easily,” I warned him with a smile.

“I wouldn’t expect otherwise, my little hellcat.” He stared down at me for a few seconds, his eyes alight with passion. “Especially now that you’re going AWOL.”

I shook my head and made a tsking sort of noise to let him know he was way off base. “No, Knightley, I’m not
going
AWOL, I’ve already
gone
AWOL.”

“Ah, so it’s progressed to that stage, has it?” I didn’t respond as I watched his eyes glow even more brightly before another smile curled his full lips.

“It has,” I answered resolutely. “Sounds like you’ve got a long, difficult road ahead of you, Knightley, my man.”

“That’s Officer Vander to you,” he corrected me.

Then he jerked me forward, and none too gently. I brought my hands up against his chest to keep my face from slamming into him. When I caught my breath, I looked up and instantly lost myself in the stunning cerulean blue of his eyes. Less than three inches of air separated us, but that was dwindling fast, owing to my increased respiration.

Boiling with exhilaration, I couldn’t help but notice how Knight dwarfed me with his enormous body. His impressive size was one of the things that thrilled me the most about him. The extreme difference in our heights and builds made me feel so feminine, so small and fragile and it was an observation that electrified me all the way to my core. As exhilarating as it was, it was also a weird thought, especially to me. I was generally known as the feisty, independent woman who could always take care of herself. Ordinarily, my code of law was kicking asses and taking names. Sometimes, though, I had to admit that I enjoyed the role of submissive to this deliciously dominant alpha male.

Okay, well, let’s say, I enjoyed
playing
the role of
sexually
submissive. In general, “submissive” wasn’t a word that anyone would use to characterize me. And in my mind that was definitely a good thing.

“Excuse me …,” I said with a small laugh. “Officer … Knight.”

He narrowed his eyes in mock offense and I was suddenly overwhelmed by the need to feel his lips on mine. I was dying to taste him, to experience the delight of his tongue as it entered my mouth. The need inside me was growing to such an extent that it soon became an all-out conflagration, a burning desire that pleaded for relief.

“I won’t tolerate insolence,” he whispered before releasing my right arm. His hold on my left arm tightened; and seconds later, I felt the sharp smack of his palm hitting my right butt cheek. All I was aware of was my sharp intake of breath as he unleashed his hand on my other cheek. The sting was momentary, and far outweighed by my own burning desire, which was mounting exponentially inside me.

“Am I supposed to apologize?” I asked. My voice was a little breathy because I wanted nothing more than for him to smack my ass again.

“You’re supposed to show some respect for your superiors,” he answered. He started massaging both of my cheeks, as if he felt bad for inflicting even the slightest amount of pain on them. Truth be told, I’d enjoyed every second of it.

“And if I refuse?”

He chuckled as he gripped my right cheek more tightly. “Then you must endure even more punishment.”

“Hmm,” I replied. Rising up onto my tiptoes, I whispered into his ear, “What if the punishment is exactly what I’m after? Should I be punished even harder?”

“You’re incorrigible,” he chuckled, but seconds later, he lifted me up. I wrapped my legs around him and he sat me down on top of the desk. Wedging his body between my legs, he said, “You have no idea how much I’ve missed you.” His hot breath on my neck preceded a series of kisses that made my insides feel like they were melting.

“I’m sure I have a pretty good idea,” I answered and reached for his erection, which was already straining for release from his pants. Maybe it was because of Knight’s rank, or because he was a detective, but he didn’t have to wear a uniform. He never had. And although I loved the way he dressed, at that moment I would have given just about anything to see his beautiful body clad in sexy, police-issue pants.

“Don’t degrade what I’m trying to say by making it all about sex,” he chided me. He pulled away and gripped my chin, forcing me to look him right in the eyes. “Our sex life is unparalleled, and of course I’ve missed it, but that’s not what I was talking about.”

“Okay, Mr. Serious.”

“I
am
being serious,” he continued, his expression emphasizing the point. “I missed
you
, Dulcie.”

“Point taken,” I said with a resolute nod. “Now let’s get back to the more fun stuff.”

He shook his head and a sweet smile appeared on his lips. “Okay. But I want to make sure you know that I don’t think of you as just a hot piece of ass,” he explained before quirking a brow at me.

“Hmm, what if I can’t say the same about you?”

Feigning offense, he effortlessly lifted me off the desk and then took a seat on it. He put me on my feet and gripped me around my middle, forcing me to bend over his knees. With one arm across my back, he held me in place. Meanwhile his other hand gave me a healthy swat right across my backside.

“So I’m just a piece of meat to you, am I?” he asked before unleashing his palm against my ass again.

“You always valued truth above all else in our relationship, right?” I ground out, smiling up at him as non-apologetically as I could.

He didn’t respond as he wound his arm back and unfurled it against my butt again, this time a little bit harder. The smack made my entire body bounce, so I dug my fingernails into his thighs.

“You could always take back what you said, you know, and admit I’m your boss,” he announced, cocking his head to the side as he spoke. “I
am
a reasonable man.”

“And why would I do that?” I inquired, shaking my head. “Especially when my punishment was just starting to get really good.”

“Have it your way,” Knight shrugged as he smacked me again. Another four, and I decided I’d had enough. My butt was stinging, and then some.

“Okay, okay,” I said, anxious to surrender. “I give up! You win!”

“Say it,” he replied, straight-lipped. With a backwards glance, I noticed he held his hand up, as if poised to lay it on me if my answer displeased him.

“Say what?”

“Really?” he asked, shaking his head and frowning. “You don’t recall the conversation we were just having?”

I smiled as apologetically as I could. “To be completely honest, I can’t remember anything before you started in on me. Forgive me; but every other thought I had just sort of blanched altogether from my mind.”

“Unbelievable,” he grumbled, shaking his head again and frowning directly at me. I smiled even more broadly. “I was telling you how much I missed you,” he started.

“Ah!” I interrupted, grinning as widely as I could. “I missed you too!”

With a loud laugh, he lifted me off his knees and set me down on the desktop again, right beside him. I couldn’t help noticing how his hands lingered around my waist. We looked at each other for a few seconds, neither of us saying anything, as both of our smiles disappeared.